Ravinia Festival

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There’s more to Ravinia than merely the world’s greatest music. For as many people who walk through Ravinia’s gate each summer, there are just as many ways to enjoy what we call “The Ravinia Experience.”

For some, it all starts with a picnic picked up along the way, followed by a hop on the train and greeting your friends at your favorite spot on the lawn. Gradually, day turns into evening, and from the comfort of your perfect lawn spot, it culminates in a great concert by candlelight as you gaze at the stars above.
For others, it’s a dinner reservation at one of Ravinia’s popular on-site restaurants followed by a casual stroll to the Pavilion, where you go to see and hear the stars on the stage.

Bring your own lavish picnic, treat yourself to an ice cream cone at intermission, or just come as you are and leave the details to us.

Since 1904, Ravinia has been Chicago’s “sound of summer,” a place where you can meet up with your friends, have a wonderful time and hear some of the greatest music in the world. We’ve got stars on the stage and stars in the sky, and it’s all within your reach. Enjoy!

The Pavilion
Ravinia’s 3,200-seat open-air, covered Pavilion is the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, jazz luminaries and legends, and some of the greatest pop, folk, blues and country musicians of today. Since the early 1900’s, Ravinia has presented opera in concert. Today, it continues that tradition with rare productions of world music, as well as concert performances of opera with supertitles and musical theater.

The Martin Theatre
Just inside the West Gate and steps from the train, the historic Martin Theatre is the only original building at Ravinia that still remains, since the park opened in 1904. Beautifully restored in 1996, the 850-seat recital hall is home to stunning chamber music and recital programs, jazz events during Jazz in June and also Martinis at the Martin, Ravinia’s cabaret series featuring great vocalists performing hits from the Great American Songbook. In the intimacy of the Martin Theatre, you get so close to the performers that by the end of the concert, you feel as though you know them.

Bennett*Gordon Hall
Located at the southern-most section of the park, Bennett*Gordon Hall, in the John D. Harza building, is a 450-seat, jewel-like recital hall, home to the Steans Institute for Young Artists. Each summer, dozens of the brightest young musicians come to Ravinia to study with world-renowned faculty and coaches. Ravinia presents these brilliant rising stars in free performances and master classes throughout the summer.

In commemoration of the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth in 2009, Ravinia Music Festival of Chicago has received a large grant to compose several music compositions to honor Abraham Lincoln, and to conduct performances in select cities across Illinois.

Ravinia has enthusiastically selected the city of Lincoln as one of its host cities in which to hold several performances on a date yet to be determined in 2009.

Lincoln Bicentennial co-chairman Ron Keller is looking for any organization, group, society, school, class, etc., that might be interested in hosting a performance, which will be free to the host.

Welz Kauffman, president and CEO of Ravinia (and former artistic administrator for the New York Philharmonic) wants to meet with anyone interested in this.

Kauffman will be at Lincoln College at 11:30 a.m. March 11. Keller would like to know as soon as possible who is interested in attending the meeting.

Ravinia is willing to provide a piano trio to come to Lincoln to do a variety of activities during a one-day residency:

The music featured would include one or more of the new pieces commissioned in a competition through the generosity of the Illinois Lincoln Commission, plus other piano trio works written during Lincoln’s lifetime – works by Mendelssohn, Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, etc.

Ravina would provide background material on the works to be performed and the performers, and would talk a bit about Lincoln and his connection to music, and the music of the time.

These activities could include but are not limited to:
* In-school performances ranging in length from 30 to 60 minutes, where the trio plays for kids –and the kids and teachers would have received advance materials on the music and performers.
* Master classes from the members of the trio with individual piano, violin or cello students, or with chamber ensembles, or with orchestras.
* Performances for senior citizen organizations.
* Performances for clubs such as Rotary Clubs or other associations of women’s clubs.
* Performances for city officials.
* A full evening performance, ticketed or not, to last approximately 90 minutes.

The new works are meant to be 10-15 minutes long and are meant to be inspired by Lincoln’s own words.

All the performers need to make the events above happen is a room with a tuned piano. For the evening performance, should there be one, a concert grand piano would be preferred.